Thank you too, Kez
Man ! - you certainly have a way with words.
I learned about John Paul Taylor this sunday. the song was the perfect finish of a radio program with the Danish wildlife conservationist Lone Drøscher Nielsen. Most likely a song of her choice.
I actually thought it was a Cat Stevens song.
I wrote to the program straight away and the answer came today so, certainly my song of the week.
The song that has had me hitting 'replay' over and over again lately is "Back to the Races" by Chadwick Stone on his debut solo album, Simmerkane II.
The album has quite a few tracks that could equally serve as my "Song of the Week," but "Back to the Races" is the one I'm stuck on at the moment. Wow! This is a very infectious song that makes it virtually impossible to sit still for. I get so carried away with the overall sound of the song that I don't even pay that much attention to the lyrics, which are really quite good. But with a beat like this, and exciting swelling each time the chorus line is reached, then back down, then up again, I wouldn't care if the lyrics were nothing but la-la-la. I really, really like the driving rhythm guitar and percussion. Give it a listen. It's a great, great song.
BACK TO THE RACES
I cannot face the past,
I'd rather face the dark.
Dont know what to say,
Don't know where you are.
Is love too strong a god?
How long do we have to go?
Ever tempted by
How far we'd have to fall
To feel that way again.
I come back for the farm.
I would have met you there,
But I got terribly lost.
You waited there so long;
Finally you walked off.
And I just passed the road;
The road I should have turned on. (Crescendo starts here, at the precise point of the word "on" and sustains through the next stanza)
On your mark
You have my word
That I'll return
If you don't look back,
And off well go.
As it was on earth,
So shall it be sold.
So shall it be.
I was in the shed (Here's where the decrescendo begins)
Waiting for the ram to sleep.
I just combed my hair
So that maybe you'd like me.
And everything to all,
And all that fades away.
But I can see you on
Yeah, I can see you on
On your mark (Big infectious swell again - by this point, it's hard to sit still. Lot's of banging rhythm going on.)
You have my word
That I'll return
If you don't look back.
And off well go.
As It was on earth,
So shall it be sold.
So shall it be sold.
Lights blown out (Swell still going on big-time here with driving rhythm guitar and banging percussion)
All our bags
Sold our capes
To make it dark
Beat the sword
Into the plow
Take my place
Take it now
And go back to the races, (Here it's back down again with a decrescendo)
And on with the day.
Back where the sacred are.
Back to the races,
And off with their heads
Let the kings horses fall. (Swell begins again)
Run! The fall might arrive
One minute please ma
Before we go inside
Its not dark to me,
No its not dark at all.
And all the confederate kings
Are waiting in the hall.
On your mark (Big crescendo again)
You have my word
That I'll return
If you don't look back
And off well go
As it was on earth
So shall it be sold,
So shall it be sold.
And go back to the races, (Back down again here)
And on with the day.
Back where the sacred are.
Back to the races,
And off with their heads
Let the kings horses fall. (Swell again...)
Back to the races,
And on with the day.
Back where the sacred are.
Back to the races,
And off with their heads
Let the kings horses fall.
Back to the races,
And on with the day.
Back where the sacred are.
Back to the races,
And off with their heads
Let the kings horses fall.
One more time around, (Down again, soft and quiet)
One more race to go.
Send my name to the owls
Will I see you far below?
Please don't turn around (Sound of footsteps walking away)
Cause they'll take me back away
And I can feel the moon
Dragging me towards the race. (Sound of door shutting)
Been meaning to post this for quite a while now. Heard it again today and thought it was time to share it. The song is King Hummingbird by JJ Grey. JJ Grey is the leader of the band, Mofro, described as a Southern rock/soul/funk/blues jam band, but King Hummingbird is an acoustic, very mellow song. What qualifies it for Song of the Week? The lyrics. perfectly paired to a very appropriate melody to fit the mood.
The lyrics describe a true experience the singer had and how it impacted him, and because of that, the listener comes away feeling the full force of the regret he has to this very day from something he did when he was a young boy. It is haunting.
The experience? As a young boy, JJ Grey shot and killed a hummingbird. He actually never thought he would hit it - he was very far away - but he took careful aim and shot anyway, and to his surprise, he shot the bird dead. He has forever regretted it. He wrote 'King Hummingbird' as a way to express his regret.
Wow. This song will stay with you for a long time.
Thanks, GP and Greg. Yeah, I've been busy lately and haven't even been following this board or listening to any of my music for a while. Just now getting back into it. (I never can go that long without my music! I'm sure that's the case for all emusers.)
I bought this camera
to take pictures of my love
Now that he's gone
I don't have anybody to take pictures of
Along some highway
is pretty good subjects
I'm gonna make myself make use of this thing
I'm taking landscapes
I'm taking still lifes
I'm taking bad self portraits
of a lonely woman
I've spent my life
so lost on lovin'
I could have been a painter or a president
But after 25 years
I should be good at something
Gone are the days of me being so innocent
I'm taking night classes
I'm making sculptures
I'm painting bad self portraits
of a lonely woman
I bought this camera
to take pictures of my love
Now that he's gone
I don't know what to do with this thing, well
I don't care about the time or money
I just never thought that I'd be
through with this love
I just came across this thread again. I still think it was a great thread. Just bringing it back to the top of the heap for a moment to see if it strikes anyone’s fancy.
Comments
Man ! - you certainly have a way with words.
I learned about John Paul Taylor this sunday. the song was the perfect finish of a radio program with the Danish wildlife conservationist Lone Drøscher Nielsen. Most likely a song of her choice.
I actually thought it was a Cat Stevens song.
I wrote to the program straight away and the answer came today so, certainly my song of the week.
The album has quite a few tracks that could equally serve as my "Song of the Week," but "Back to the Races" is the one I'm stuck on at the moment. Wow! This is a very infectious song that makes it virtually impossible to sit still for. I get so carried away with the overall sound of the song that I don't even pay that much attention to the lyrics, which are really quite good. But with a beat like this, and exciting swelling each time the chorus line is reached, then back down, then up again, I wouldn't care if the lyrics were nothing but la-la-la. I really, really like the driving rhythm guitar and percussion. Give it a listen. It's a great, great song.
BACK TO THE RACES
I cannot face the past,
I'd rather face the dark.
Dont know what to say,
Don't know where you are.
Is love too strong a god?
How long do we have to go?
Ever tempted by
How far we'd have to fall
To feel that way again.
I come back for the farm.
I would have met you there,
But I got terribly lost.
You waited there so long;
Finally you walked off.
And I just passed the road;
The road I should have turned on. (Crescendo starts here, at the precise point of the word "on" and sustains through the next stanza)
On your mark
You have my word
That I'll return
If you don't look back,
And off well go.
As it was on earth,
So shall it be sold.
So shall it be.
I was in the shed (Here's where the decrescendo begins)
Waiting for the ram to sleep.
I just combed my hair
So that maybe you'd like me.
And everything to all,
And all that fades away.
But I can see you on
Yeah, I can see you on
On your mark (Big infectious swell again - by this point, it's hard to sit still. Lot's of banging rhythm going on.)
You have my word
That I'll return
If you don't look back.
And off well go.
As It was on earth,
So shall it be sold.
So shall it be sold.
Lights blown out (Swell still going on big-time here with driving rhythm guitar and banging percussion)
All our bags
Sold our capes
To make it dark
Beat the sword
Into the plow
Take my place
Take it now
And go back to the races, (Here it's back down again with a decrescendo)
And on with the day.
Back where the sacred are.
Back to the races,
And off with their heads
Let the kings horses fall. (Swell begins again)
Run! The fall might arrive
One minute please ma
Before we go inside
Its not dark to me,
No its not dark at all.
And all the confederate kings
Are waiting in the hall.
On your mark (Big crescendo again)
You have my word
That I'll return
If you don't look back
And off well go
As it was on earth
So shall it be sold,
So shall it be sold.
And go back to the races, (Back down again here)
And on with the day.
Back where the sacred are.
Back to the races,
And off with their heads
Let the kings horses fall. (Swell again...)
Back to the races,
And on with the day.
Back where the sacred are.
Back to the races,
And off with their heads
Let the kings horses fall.
Back to the races,
And on with the day.
Back where the sacred are.
Back to the races,
And off with their heads
Let the kings horses fall.
One more time around, (Down again, soft and quiet)
One more race to go.
Send my name to the owls
Will I see you far below?
Please don't turn around (Sound of footsteps walking away)
Cause they'll take me back away
And I can feel the moon
Dragging me towards the race. (Sound of door shutting)
Whew, what a ride! BRILLIANT!!
The lyrics describe a true experience the singer had and how it impacted him, and because of that, the listener comes away feeling the full force of the regret he has to this very day from something he did when he was a young boy. It is haunting.
The experience? As a young boy, JJ Grey shot and killed a hummingbird. He actually never thought he would hit it - he was very far away - but he took careful aim and shot anyway, and to his surprise, he shot the bird dead. He has forever regretted it. He wrote 'King Hummingbird' as a way to express his regret.
Wow. This song will stay with you for a long time.
Listen here:
Youtube link
I bought this camera
to take pictures of my love
Now that he's gone
I don't have anybody to take pictures of
Along some highway
is pretty good subjects
I'm gonna make myself make use of this thing
I'm taking landscapes
I'm taking still lifes
I'm taking bad self portraits
of a lonely woman
I've spent my life
so lost on lovin'
I could have been a painter or a president
But after 25 years
I should be good at something
Gone are the days of me being so innocent
I'm taking night classes
I'm making sculptures
I'm painting bad self portraits
of a lonely woman
I bought this camera
to take pictures of my love
Now that he's gone
I don't know what to do with this thing, well
I don't care about the time or money
I just never thought that I'd be
through with this love